Our STO correspondents were hard at work earlier this month working on our first STO interview since the launch of UFP's news system. Readers might recall our first of many interviews back in 2010 on the Federation Herald. Today, FNS sits down with Brandon Felczer (BranFlakes) to discuss the state of the game!
Brandon: Hi UFP! Thanks for having me. My name is Brandon Felczer (you may know me on the forums and Twitter as “BranFlakes”) and I am the Community Manager for Star Trek Online.
So getting right to it, I’d like to talk about the Winter Event to start. Are there be any big changes or additions to the popular map and activities we’re all so very much accustomed to?
Brandon: This year’s Winter Event is bigger than ever. In addition to all your old favorite events from last year, we’re bringing in a few new surprises. My favorite is the “Winter Invasion” event. You access it via the PvE queue and save Gingerbread people throughout the map and there are some awesome rewards at the end. Make sure to also explore the map to find the special present that contains a recipe that can be taken to the chef in the Gazebo. I also am excited for players to check out the pie eating contest.
Will the evil Snowman Overlord be making a comeback this year?
Brandon: Absolutely!
Will players be able to attain the Breen Chel Grett Warship and the Winter Coats from last year this time around or will we see a brand new set of rewards?
Brandon: They sure will, in addition to many new rewards, and a brand new ship! Check out the details on this year’s rewards here.
Will players who stockpiled the consumables from last year, such as Andorian Sleigh Bells for example, be able to use them on this year’s reward vendor?
Brandon: Yep! There are also 2 new ways to obtain the holiday commodities: via the “Winter Invasion” and the pie eating contest.
It’s safe to call this year’s summer event a success, what information are you taking from that event to apply to this year’s highly anticipated winter event?
Brandon: The summer event was a huge success – players seemed to really enjoy it. One thing players really enjoyed was the various events around Risa, like the dance contest, for example, and the ability to trade in the birds they raised for marks of their choice. I would say that the pie eating contest evolved from the feedback about the dance event, and the same Winter Epohhs that could be bred last year will be returning and can be turned in for Marks of your choice.
During the summer event players were able to equip a jetpack and explore the holiday zone, will we perhaps see some more of that this year with the winter map? Or will that remain a summer-time sport.
Brandon: You won’t be able to use the floaters at Q’s Winter Wonderland, but the feedback seems pretty consistent that players would like to see them used in other places. There are no concrete plans at this time for more maps you can use the floater on, but I always like to say “never say never.”
Brandon: I really love seeing the entire community come together to have a bit of fun. I also personally love just relaxing on the frozen pond and showing off my ice skating moves and participating in the PvP foot race.
Moving onto some more general questions, this past year brought amazing voice talent including Michael Dorn and Denise Crosby, can players look forward to more special guest appearances in 2014?
Brandon: We’d absolutely love to have more VO added in 2014. You’ll have to stay tuned to see who joins us next!
Mini games are always fun. I know some UFP members, for example, have always wanted to have TNG-style poker nights. Are small additions like that still up for consideration?
Brandon: They are up for consideration, but they are not currently on the development schedule. See above, though: never say never!
Just two follow ups from another interview for you, it was stated on Priority One that there would be a 5/3 (weapon slots) KDF ship by the end of this year, are there any updates on this front?
Brandon: Yes! We’ll be revealing the Mogh Battle Cruiser very soon and expect it to launch from KDF Fleetyards in the next few weeks.
Also in this same interview, a “Vesta-Grade” Romulan Science ship was mentioned as being in the works, any developments there?
Brandon: One of the things we’ve mentioned recently is that the next Romulan Warbird would most likely be a “science” ship. Plans are subject to change, but beyond that, you’ll have to stay tuned!
Looking back at 2013, what is one addition to Star Trek Online that you, as a player, were most excited for?
Brandon: The Romulan Republic playable faction, hands down. If you remember back to our 3-Year Anniversary Video we put out, there was a Romulan teaser at the end of it. I remember seeing that for the first time, and my heart would pound – I was that excited for players to get a sneak peek, even though we were not announcing them. As a player since Closed Beta well before working here, it was so awesome to see them make it into the game.
It’s hard to believe that the game has been out for almost four years. Has work begun on the 4th Anniversary event?
Brandon: It has! We’ve got Dev Blogs planned that will reveal more information about it as we get closer.
Awesome! Well thank you very much for joining us. On behalf of UFPlanets Ltd. and our news team, Happy Holidays!
Brandon: It was all my pleasure! Thanks again for having me, and Happy Holidays! Can’t wait for you all to see everything we have planned for 2014... it’s going to be epic. See you in-game!
The Winter Event went live for all players on December 5th, 2013.
